Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert (August 21, 1919 – September 24, 2000) was a Canadian politician and

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

from 1962 to 1963.

Life and career

Lambert was born in St. Albert, to a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

father and a Belgian mother. He served in the 14th Armoured Regiment (Calgary Regiment) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and participated in (and survived) the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...

. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. After returning to Alberta, he was named a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

in 1946 and in 1947 he entered

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

(

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

) to study law. Lambert was a candidate for the

Alberta Progressive Conservatives The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, often referred to as the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, was a provincial centre-right party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta that existed fro ...

in the 1952 provincial election, but failed to win a seat in the provincial legislature. He was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from the riding of

Edmonton West Edmonton West () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988, from 1997 to 2004 and again since 2015. Demographics History and g ...

in the 1957 election. He was returned in the nine following elections, and remained an MP until his retirement prior to the 1984 election. Lambert served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence from 1957 to 1958, and as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of National Revenue The minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. The position is ...

until 1962. Following the defeat of Speaker

Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener (April 19, 1900 – August 6, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the 20th governor general of Canada from 1967 to 1974. Michener was born and educated in Alberta. In 1917 he served briefl ...

in the 1962 election, Lambert was nominated to the position of speaker of the House of Commons by Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

. Lambert presided over the House of Commons during a tenuous

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

situation. As speaker, Lambert strove to be very correct in his interpretation of standing orders, ruling opposition questions out of order during

Question Period Question Period (QP; ), known officially as Oral Questions (), occurs each sitting day in the House of Commons of Canada—similarly in provincial legislatures—in which members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (includin ...

if they were not strict inquiries and strayed at all into argumentation. This displeased the

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

and led to his rulings being appealed unsuccessfully. Lambert refused to allow an emergency debate on the issue of

Bomarc The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of Nor ...

missiles that the opposition demanded when an American State Department press release was issued contradicting arguments made by the Diefenbaker government against accepting the missiles. Lambert asserted that the matter was not of sufficient urgency to warrant a special debate. Liberal leader

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

challenged Lambert's decision, and the House overturned Lambert's decision by a vote of 122 to 104. This incident indicated that the government had lost control of the House. Soon after, the government was defeated on a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

on the Bomarc issue. Diefenbaker called an election, and appointed Lambert to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

as minister of Veterans Affairs. While Lambert was re-elected in Edmonton, the Progressive Conservative government lost the election, and Lambert's two-month career as a cabinet minister came to an end. With the Conservatives in

, Lambert sided with Diefenbaker's critics, and refused to sign a petition declaring loyalty to the Conservative leader in 1966 when

Dalton Camp Dalton Kingsley Camp (September 11, 1920 – March 18, 2002) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator, and supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Although he was never electe ...

attempted to force a

leadership review In Canadian politics, a leadership review is a vote held at a political party convention in which delegates decide whether to endorse the incumbent party leader or schedule a leadership convention to elect a new leader. In most parties at present, ...

. In Opposition, Lambert was a leading

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

in the areas of National Defence and Finance. During the short-lived government of

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

, he was chairman of the Miscellaneous Estimates Committee, and led it through a flurry of activity. After being defeated in a bitter nomination race by his eventual successor, Murray Dorin, Lambert retired from the House of Commons at the 1984 election. He was appointed to the Canadian Transportation Commission by Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

following the election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Marcel 1919 births 2000 deaths Canadian people of Belgian descent Canadian King's Counsel Canadian Rhodes Scholars Franco-Albertan people Lawyers in Alberta Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Edmonton Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Minister of veterans affairs of Canada

Life and career

Archives

References